Cisco VXI vs Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) comparison

Cisco and Citrix are both solutions in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category. Cisco is ranked #22, while Citrix is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.7. Cisco holds a 0.9% mindshare in VD, compared to Citrix’s 14.2% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Citrix users who would recommend it.

Cisco VXI

Read 1 Cisco VXI review

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448 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citri...

Read 128 Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) reviews

10,540 Views
7,905 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Cisco VXI

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citri...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco VXI and Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix, Broadcom, Omnissa and others in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI).

To learn more, read our detailed Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

April 2026

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Helped 886,719 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Cisco VXI

Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

22nd

Average Rating

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citri...

Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

128

Ranking in other categories

Application Virtualization (1st), Remote Access (4th), Desktop as a Service (DaaS) (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Cisco VXI is 0.9%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is 14.2%, up from 9.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service)	14.2%
Cisco VXI	0.9%
Other	84.9%

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

Featured Reviews

Sina Ghozati

Technical Solution Specialist at Arrow Electronics

Straightforward implementation, scalable, but performance could improve

When using Cisco VXI in virtual environments there tends to be a lot of bugs with files you have to deploy across the virtual environment. You configure for hours, and then there is a bug that stops you, and you notice that you wasted hours. There's always room for improvement with these virtual environments because you're not dealing with the actual equipment, you're dealing with a virtual version of it that you have to install in a virtual environment. The performance of Cisco VXI could improve. It requires a lot of hardware and even if you install it on a server it is heavy on resources.

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Sorin Neacsu

Technical Lead on Virtual Desktop at Orange

Has delivered consistent desktop experiences across remote locations and has supported multimedia workloads efficiently

I have utilized the HDX protocol for compression and audio-video capabilities. When users need to conduct meetings with customers or colleagues, they can use Teams solutions and open a bridge where video and audio are encapsulated within the ICA protocol, which is protected by SSL and certificates for security. This provides secure communication at good quality through the HDX protocol. HDX protocol has improved application performance as it is specifically designed for multimedia applications. If processing audio or video files, such as in telecom where discussions are recorded and then prepared as video or audio, this does not consume excessive bandwidth during the operation compared to a normal remote desktop connection provided by Microsoft. Everything is compressed and provides sufficient bandwidth for multiple people to perform similar tasks without interruption or session disconnection. All multimedia-related activities, such as playing content on YouTube, deliver a better experience with this protocol overall. I use multi-factor authentication for opening sessions to the data center where users access their machines or software. Multi-factor authentication has helped secure applications because users typically have two-way authentication software on their phones. They use a password first and then authenticate themselves through their mobile application to grant access to resources. This approach is effective because if a hacker attacks a user, they need more than just the password and username. They must also possess the device that provides authentication. The device typically has facial recognition, a password, and provides better security overall.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The initial setup of Cisco VXI is straightforward."

"The solution has been doing a good job for us."

"It has improved delivering applications to remote locations with its lower bandwidth utilization."

"Citrix is one of the companies that is delivering virtual apps and desktops in a big way; they are mature enough to understand the level of stability required and deliver it."

"For our company's customers, I feel that the product is stable."

"Security is a shining point of the Citrix Workspace."

"Instead of pointing to any single feature, I would say the most valuable aspect of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is the overall product itself. Virtualized apps and desktops, in theory and in practice, are very helpful to users."

"Relative to other solutions, Citrix has fewer conditions and fewer parameters. Citrix also provides some flexibility because it can be used on any device."

"XenApp has helped many of my customers with remote access of applications, access on different platforms."

"The flexibility provided by that alone was invaluable, in just getting people able to work from home."

More Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) pros

Cons

"When using Cisco VXI in virtual environments there tends to be a lot of bugs with files you have to deploy across the virtual environment. You configure for hours, and then there is a bug that stops you, and you notice that you wasted hours."

"When using Cisco VXI in virtual environments there tends to be a lot of bugs with files you have to deploy across the virtual environment."

"Costs for one, we settled on VMware hypervisor with Citrix Xendesktop running underneath, additional costs were incurred because of this hybrid solution, another consideration would be the significant disk space required for what is called "write cache"."

"Direct connection of USB devices on the terminals to be used by streamed applications is very important for printing and the usage of token authentication, but the current version does not support this one hundred percent."

"What sometimes is an issue is when an application is not compatible with the server's OS, but that is out of Citrix´s hands."

"Some customers find the price to be a significant factor. They have a hard time understanding the extra cost of the services"

"I would like to see better documentation of best practices and communication of newly available tools or troubleshooting tools."

"We have had issues with certain aspects, which is why we are looking for alternatives. For example, the firewall solution from Citrix is a bit complicated. Integration is hard."

"The solution's technical support is not so good."

"This product should include a feature like like App Volume, which their competitor already has."

More Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution when there are bugs. I'm always ready to give money for a complete solution where there are no bugs in it, but you will never find it."

"It is a bit costly, but enterprise class features come with a cost."

"The tool is expensive."

"The licensing of Citrix Workspace is worth it. However, it is expensive. Citrix is probably more competitive now than VMware, but it is still a costly solution."

"We are seeing a return on investment with Citrix Workspace."

"The pricing is a little bit high, but it's good value for the product's stability and efficiency."

"Citrix solutions cost a lot in comparison with competitors, like Azure Virtual Desktop or VMware Horizon. Those solutions cost around 50 to 60 percent less, per month per user, than Citrix."

"The solution is affordable."

"I don't quite remember the specifics of what we had. I believe we had a 25-user license, and I don't recall it being overly expensive."

More Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Performing Arts

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	45
Midsize Enterprise	21
Large Enterprise	69

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?

I rate the product’s pricing a seven out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?

I have found that Citrix DaaS is still a complex product, especially on the desktop side, which affects scalability. Although it works well on the apps side, the desktop aspect still has room for i...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?

The entire development environment is accessed only through the virtual desktop setup using Citrix DaaS.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 24% of the time

VMware Workstation vs Cisco VXI

Compared 17% of the time

NComputing vSpace vs Cisco VXI

Compared 16% of the time

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization for Desktops vs Cisco VXI

Compared 10% of the time

Inuvika vs Cisco VXI

Compared 7% of the time

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Azure Virtual Desktop vs Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service)

Compared 31% of the time

Horizon 8 vs Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service)

Compared 4% of the time

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service)

Compared 4% of the time

Amazon Appstream vs Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service)

Compared 3% of the time

Rocket Exceed TurboX vs Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service)

Compared 3% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

April 2026

Download Cisco VXI product report

Buyer's Guide

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service)

April 2026

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) report

Download Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) product report

Also Known As

VXI

XenDesktop, XenApp (Citrix Virtual Apps), Citrix Workspace

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

Cisco

Citrix

Overview

Cisco Virtualization Experience Infrastructure (VXI) is an end-to-end systems approach that delivers the next generation virtual workspace by unifying virtual desktops, voice, and video. It helps IT provide an exceptionally flexible and secure converged infrastructure for an uncompromised user experience.

Cisco

Enable secure, flexible work with the leader in virtual apps and desktops

Deliver desktop as a service (DaaS) from any cloud or datacenter

Get started with Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) in minutes to provide a familiar, high-performance digital workspace experience to your users. We’ll manage the infrastructure and security. You focus on your business.

Citrix

Sample Customers

Advanced Medical Transport, Artoni Transporti, Calligaris, CIPCO, Citrix, Comcast, Desktone, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS), LightEdge, Management Science Associates, Molina Healthcare, North West Redwater, Outscale

Exelon, Aeronamic, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Alameda County Medical Center, Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Aloysius Stichting, Amarchand Mangaldas, AmBev, Amnet Technology Solutions, Arval

Buyer's Guide

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

April 2026

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Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix, Broadcom, Omnissa and others in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). Updated: April 2026.

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